​World Trade Center of Greater Philadelphia News

Program is now available in some of the busiest Global Entry enrollment areas and will continue to expand through the remainder of 2017 and into 2018​WASHINGTON—U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced today the expansion of Global Entry Enrollment on Arrival to 11 additional international airports. Enrollment on Arrival enables conditionally-approved Global Entry applicants to complete their interview, the final step of the Global Entry enrollment process, while clearing CBP processing. The program is currently available at nine new locations including Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), Detroit Metropolitan Airport (DTW), Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport (MSP), Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX), Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC), San Diego International Airport (SAN), Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport (SJC), Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA), and Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ), and will launch later this week at Denver International Airport (DEN) and Philadelphia International Airport (PHL).“Global Entry continues to be one of CBP’s most successful and popular programs and we have made it a priority to improve the enrollment process for those looking to join the ranks of Trusted Traveler,” said Acting Commissioner Kevin McAleenan. “Last month, we launched a modernized, mobile-friendly application website making the initial step of the process more user friendly and now with these additional Enrollment on Arrival locations we have added greater flexibility for those looking to complete the enrollment process.”Since the program’s launch in July, more than 5,200 conditionally-approved Global Entry applicants have completed the final step of the enrollment process at an Enrollment on Arrival location. Enrollment on Arrival is also available at George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH), William P. Hobby Airport (HOU), Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS), San Francisco International Airport (SFO) and Vancouver International Airport (YVR).Conditionally-approved applicants looking to utilize Enrollment on Arrival do not need to schedule an interview appointment ahead of time.Once a traveler is conditionally-approved, instead of scheduling an interview at a Global Entry Enrollment Center, the traveler can complete the enrollment interview during CBP primary inspection at a participating airport. Upon arrival, travelers will be directed to a primary booth designated specifically for Enrollment on Arrival. A CBP officer will conduct both the primary processing and Global Entry interview and collect the traveler’s biometrics to complete the enrollment. The traveler will then be cleared for entry into the United States and, if approved, will be a Global Entry member.Currently available at 54 U.S. airports and 15 Preclearance locations, Global Entry streamlines the international arrivals process at airports for trusted travelers. The more than 4.7 million Global Entry members bypass traditional CBP inspection lines and use an automated kiosk to complete their admission to the United States. As an added benefit, Global Entry members are also eligible to participate in the TSA Pre✓™ expedited screening program.U.S. citizens, U.S nationals and U.S. Lawful Permanent Residents may apply for Global Entry as well as passport holders from Argentina, Colombia, Germany, India, Mexico, the Netherlands, Panama, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, Switzerland, Taiwan and the United Kingdom. Canadian citizens and residents enrolled in NEXUS may also use the Global Entry kiosks.Interested travelers apply through the Trusted Traveler Programs website. The non-refundable application fee for a five-year Global Entry membership is $100 and applications must be submitted online. Once the applicant successfully passes a background check, a CBP officer will conduct an interview with the applicant at one of the more than 100 Global Entry Enrollment Centers located throughout the U.S., Canada, and Qatar or at an Enrollment on Arrival location and then make a final eligibility determination.While the goal of Global Entry is to speed travelers through the process, members may be selected for further examination when entering the United States. Any violation of the program’s terms and conditions will result in appropriate enforcement action and may result in the revocation of the traveler’s membership privileges.Visit CBP’s Global Entry website for more information on the Global Entry Program and the Enrollment on Arrival website for an updated list of available locations.U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.

JOHN GEORGE Julie Charlestein is the latest member of her family to lead Plymouth Meeting-based Premier Dental.

By John George – Senior Reporter, Philadelphia Business JournalNov 8, 2017, 1:39pm

Fifteen years after joining her family’s Plymouth Meeting-based company as a product manager, Julie Charlestein in 2016 took over as Premier Dental Products Co.’s CEO — a position previously held by her father. Founded in 1913 and led by the family for four generations, Premier sells dental products, from drills to cheek retractors, in 75 countries around the world. Charlestein sat down with the Business Journal recently to talk about her first year in the chief executive’s chair.

Was your first year as CEO what you expected?

Charlestein: It was not at all what I expected.I naively thought it wasn’t going to be much different. I was already basically running the company, but the minute that day came and I became CEO everything absolutely changed. There was a much heightened level of responsibility, accountability, urgency, excitement and fear. I was not anticipating that.

How did you react?

I just kept going. I just thought, ‘OK this is what the landscape is and this is what my role means,’ and I am very privileged and ecstatic to have it.

What’s been the toughest decision you’ve have had to make?

I don’t know that there has been one paramount, difficult decision. I’ve have been making changes, and sometimes it’s been at speeds people are not used to. I want to say to them, ‘I’ve been here for 15 years and I have been thinking about this forever.’

One of your major initiatives has been a rebranding of the company; can you explain why you’ve embarked on that?

We’ve been in business for more than 100 years. In order to stay successful and relevant in any business in any industry you need to constantly be revolutionizing and re-inventing yourself. Another part of it has been looking to have a closer relationship with our end users. We don’t sell directly to dentists. We sell to our distributor partners who sell to dentists. We want to garner a closer relationship and greater loyalty with the end user.… My grandfather always said, ‘Remember who you are.’ We’ve always known who we are, but we were never able to succinctly say, in a quick statement, who we are. With our rebranding we created that. We are “Premier...inspired solutions for daily dentistry.’ That tagline clearly explains who we are. Along with that, there have been a lot — operational and system changes, bringing in new people, marketing automation, CRM [customer relationship management] changes — that we’ve done to build the brand and build more recognition not just in the industry, but with dentists worldwide.

How has your relationship with dentists changed?

We are seeing a lot more connectivity with them. They are looking at the videos we are positing in greater numbers. We are being interviewed a lot in industry journals and we are seeing people react to that. We are doing podcasts now on other people’s platforms and we are getting huge responses.

You are the fourth-generation of your family to lead the company, but the first female CEO. Has that created any issues?

To me it has not been challenging on the business front. More of a challenge is being in the family, as opposed to being a women. That’s why I am glad before I came to Premier I worked outside of the company and outside of the industry [in lobbying, polling and telecommunications]. It is very important to be validated by people other than your family.… I want to make sure I am not being judged simply for being a family member, but instead for the work I do and the value I bring.

How has the industry changed during your time at Premier?

The industry has consolidated a great deal among the manufacturers. All of our main competitors are multibillion-dollar public companies, for the most part. On the distribution side, the distributors are garnering more and more power and control. There has been a growth in [dental service organizations] and corporate dentistry. There are also technological advancements, nothing that has revolutionized the industry in any great way, but more incremental change.

How do you compete with the larger publicly traded manufacturers?

In meetings I say, ‘Don’t forget for every dollar we have, they have $500,000.’ But the size we are and being privately held gives us many advantages. We are able to take a longer-term view and we are able to spend and utilize our money the way we believe is the most correct. Also important is the brand, It is well known and has a wonderful reputation in the industry. Dentists do ask for our products. We are also always bringing on new products. That will always drive the relevance. As long as we are bringing new, needed technology to the marketplace, and our name is out there, we are driving the relevance. We are able to compete with these large companies because we know what we are doing. We’ve been in this business for a very long time. We have outstanding relationships and we keep strengthening those and growing others.

What’s on your drawing board for year two?

Right now it’s strengthening the branding and marketing processes. We have the look and feel. We have the messaging. Right now we are looking at what processes we have to elevate that and ensure it is being translated into our work in the marketplace in terms of market share and loyalty. We recently hired a [chief marketing officer], a position we never had before, a gentleman named Chris Helle, to help us do this.

So are you having fun?

I love it. I totally, totally love it.… It’s unusual for businesses to get to a fourth generation, especially a successful business. I am so lucky for the stewardship and vision and leadership of my father and his father.

Was there ever any doubt in the family you would one day be taking over as CEO?​There was never pressure on me. There were never expectations. I always knew who I wanted to be, but not what I wanted to be. I knew I wanted to be fiercely independent and a leader. I didn’t know what that would look like.… I was the only [sibling] who was ever in the business, so it was a natural progression. I had been here 15 years full time. I started as a product manager and worked my way up. I worked through all areas of the business. About two years ago or so, my father started talking about not wanting to be in the CEO role much longer and from there the transition planning began.

Amazon workers packing a tractor-trailer at one of its warehouses. PETER WYNN THOMPSON

The bids are in and the six-week sprint that led up to Amazon HQ2 proposals being submitted by communities from across our region has shined a welcome spotlight on Greater Philadelphia as a business location of choice.

The proposals coming out of Greater Philadelphia last month focused on our region’s enviable assets and advantages — a strong, diverse workforce; an easily accessible international airport; an extensive regional transit network; world-class higher education institutions; a central East Coast location; our livability and affordability. It would be hard to deny that our region has all the fundamentals and then some.

Most exciting was how a wide array of local and regional leaders came together and promoted our strengths.

At the same time, we — like all major U.S. metros — face complex challenges. Too many people in Greater Philadelphia face impediments to opportunity. Poverty remains high, neighborhoods are struggling to capitalize on regional growth, and many young people do not have the skills needed to move into family-sustaining careers.

While there is work to do, the good news is that there’s progress. Much ink has been spilled about our region’s recent renaissance — from the increase in our educated millennial population to the game-changing cellular therapy treatments emerging from our region’s medical research institutions to placement on a new “top places for” list seemingly every week.

But the surge of energy, interest, and investment in many of our communities hasn’t happened by accident. It’s driven in no small part by increased collaboration among our regions’ nonprofits, institutions, and business leaders. This represents the other kind of infrastructure beyond transportation networks and utilities that companies like Amazon need in order to thrive — civic infrastructure.

Visible examples of this coming together have come in the form of high-profile events and initiatives requiring collaborative leadership to pull off — whether the Pope’s visit, Democratic National Convention, NFL Draft, the Urban Land Institute’s global conference, or our designation as the first World Heritage City in the nation.

Even greater proof of our strengthening civic infrastructure has been the growing number of sustained collaborations focused on moving the needle on growth and opportunity in Greater Philadelphia over the long run. The Economy League has helped power many of these civic partnership efforts with other high-capacity nonprofits and institutions.When the Urban Land Institute Philadelphia and the Economy League came together several years ago to drive the creation of a regional infrastructure agenda for Greater Philadelphia, Pennsylvania provided little in the way of dedicated transportation funding. Thanks to the tireless efforts of numerous nonprofit and private sector stakeholders who advocated for the need for dedicated funding, the legislature passed Act 89 in 2013, shoring up our roads, bridges, and transit systems.

Last year, the World Trade Center of Greater Philadelphia and the Economy League released the Greater Philadelphia Export Plan – an ambitious effort to spur job growth by helping more area businesses sell their goods and services abroad. The World Trade Center recently received a $1 million federal grant to support implementation of this plan with a broad range of partners by boosting exports among small and medium sized businesses and in priority clusters.

Other examples abound — the Pre-K for PA coalition that is expanding access to high-quality early learning across the state, the ImpactPHL collaborative accelerating awareness and growth of businesses addressing social needs in our region, and model talent initiatives like Campus Philly and Graduate! Philadelphia.

What we need now is for regional leaders to leverage the energy and creativity generated by the HQ2 bids to accelerate regional growth and tackle our biggest challenges.​HQ2 would be a major boon for Greater Philadelphia — but whatever happens, we must continue to work together to push our region forward. When it comes to a wealth of civic organizations building a better region, Philly also delivers.

Holtec CEO Krishna Singh speaks at the grand opening of the Krishna P. Singh Center for Nanotechnology at the University of Pennsylvania in 2013 after donating $20 million to build the center. Penn President Amy Gutmann laughs in the background. STUART A WATSON PHOTOGRAPHY

Kris Singh had forgotten.​The CEO of Holtec International, whose new manufacturing plant has been heralded as a potential game changer for the Camden, used to know the streets of the city well back in the early ‘70s.

At the time, Singh, armed with a Ph.D from the University of Pennsylvania and drive to master the alchemy of turning research into action, worked for the Joseph Oat Corp. and was tasked with helping find the small industrial fabrication company a new home base. Remembering that the site of the New York Shipbuilding Corp., once a dominate force building U.S. Navy destroyers along the Delaware River, had fallen into bankruptcy and shuttered four years prior in 1968, he made a suggestion.

“I said, ‘The shipyard closed, maybe you should get a small shop there,’” Singh said.

Forty-two years later, he chose Camden again, when economic development tax credits made possible the construction of a massive move than $300 million manufacturing facility and executive building. The Krishna P. Singh Technology Campus is now up and running on the riverfront, a hulking campus of more than 1.5 million square feet, yards from the still-operating Oat company. It’s been a long time, however, and Singh realized the city was now unfamiliar to him.

“I’d forgotten all the roads and streets around here,” Singh said in a July interview. He’s learning the city all over again as he works toward a plan that he believes could transform both Camden and the nuclear energy industry — both of which could use some help.​“It’s full circle for me,” he said.

Meet Kris Singh

Holtec’s nuclear arm has had a base of operations in Marlton, N.J., since Singh started the company in 1986, and grew to become a major player in the nuclear industry worldwide, but Singh himself has never been in the region’s public eye.

While his $20 million gift to Penn to create a nanotechnology center in 2007 made headlines as the largest single gift in the history of the School of Engineering and Applied Science, he first gained local notoriety in 2012 when he joined South Jersey business leader and Democratic powerbroker George Norcross in purchasing part ownership of Interstate General Media, then-parent company of the Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News. Norcross’ holding company bought out Singh’s shares a year later, and Norcross sold his entire stake in 2014.

“Kris has been somebody who has been largely unknown in the region, and in my opinion largely still is,” Norcross said in an interview with the Philadelphia Business Journal. “He is not someone who seeks out attention. … That’s not what he does.”

Holtec's Corporate Technology Center: A view of the Philadelphia skyline. HOLTEC INTERNATIONAL

Making a home

Despite his aversion to the spotlight, in 2014 Singh and his company became a fixture in regional news stories about Camden when he announced Holtec planned to build a massive manufacturing operation in the struggling city.

The only way the decision could be financially viable, Singh said, was to take advantage of $260 million in tax credits through the New Jersey Economic Development Authority’s Grow NJ program, which allocates tax credits to companies that decide to locate and add new jobs in impoverished cities including Camden. Other companies like Subaru of America and American Water have also taken advantage of the credits, which are determined based on projected job growth and only awarded after milestones are met. All have faced skepticism, with opponents arguing the companies are mostly relocating jobs from the suburbs into Camden and the ones that could go to Camden residents weren’t significant enough to warrant such large tax breaks.

Holtec took additional heat given Norcross’ political power in the state and his seat on Holtec’s board of directors, which is uncompensated.

From Norcross’ perspective, critics of the incentives don’t realize how the process really works, that the incentives are not a grant and that it will take nearly 20 years for Holtec to receive all of the benefits, if it meets projected job levels. Singh also took on significant risk, he argues, by putting up the nearly $400 million in capital required.

“He was the original pioneer of stepping up and decided to do probably the single largest project in Camden,” Norcross said. “It was Holtec that really launched the renaissance, in my opinion.”

In an interview with the Business Journal in October, Singh said if all goes according to plan, Holtec will eventually receive about 35 cents to 45 cents on the dollar for this investment.

“Without that, it would’ve been impossible to make those numbers work,” he said. His competitors are based in countries where labor is cheap, so to be competitive he has to foot the bill for millions of dollars worth of high-end equipment and grow a skilled labor base.

While 200 engineers and 200 fabricators are working on site now, he expects to increase that number from hundreds to thousands and one day, he hopes, to employ as many as 5,000. He’s talked about possibly turning the surrounding Fairview neighborhood, once home to shipyard yard employees, into a company town once again by developing adjacent properties.

“It’s a little bit premature,” he cautioned. “We have to first build up the workforce here, stabilize the workforce, get them trained and then look at the next steps. In my long-term plan, that’s in the cards. Of course it will depend on how successful we are in our business ventures. But that is the goal.”

The power to change power

Those business ventures are vested in an industry that faces undeniable challenges. A combination of widespread fear of nuclear reactors fueled by the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011 and the fracking boom that produced seemingly endless amounts of cheap natural gas was a one-two punch that labeled the nuclear industry as an expensive and dangerous energy source.

Three nuclear power plants in Florida, Wisconsin and California shut down operations in 2013, the first year any nuclear reactor was retired since 1998, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). Plants in Vermont and Nebraska closed in 2014 and 2016, respectively. Six more are expected to be retired within the decade, including Pennsylvania’s Three Mile Island and New Jersey’s Oyster Creek plants. Attempts to build new reactors in the southeastern United States have faltered. The construction of two new reactors in South Carolina was abandoned amid cost overruns and a plant being built in Georgia has also been met with cost criticism.

Nuclear energy still supplies about 20 percent of the country’s energy generation, but the EIA projects that number will drop to 11 percent by 2050 as nuclear plants are retired and natural gas and renewable energy sources grow in market share.​“The industry trajectory is not very good,” Singh readily admits. “A lot of people have exited the industry because they think that it has no future, and they are right in the sense that the way it is going, it is in a very tough spot.” That, in essence, is Holtec’s big play — to change the way it is going.

Holtec's plant at its Camden campus. HOLTEC INTERNATIONAL

Enter the small modular reactor, or SMR. SMR technology scales nuclear power generation down from the traditional massive reactors to portable, self-contained units that can be factory assembled. SMRs have been heralded as much cheaper and far safer — a potentially game-changing combination for the nuclear energy industry, although the commercialization and approval process to make SMRs a reality is still in the works.

Holtec isn’t the only player in the SMR game, but after it lost out on a U.S. Department of Energy funding award to develop SMR designs, it’s the only company in the world that’s developing a model without any government funding. Singh said its model, SMR-160, is designed to be everything people worry nuclear power isn’t — safe, secured from potential attacks, affordable and easy to get up and running and operate.

“There is a market for nuclear, but it cannot be a market that will work if the reactors are expensive and do not guarantee, not just assure but guarantee, there will be no accidents that will affect local populations,” Singh said. “So if we can make that work, then, yes, we will create the industry all over again. And that’s what we’re doing.”

Aside from self-contained entities like military bases, that market also isn’t domestic. Holtec’s focused on deploying the SMRs worldwide. The company already has a deep global presence, with its equipment in use in more than 20 countries across six continents. Along with local politicians including New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, both Ukraine’s Ambassador Valeriy Chaly and India’s consul general in New York Sandeep Chakravorty spoke at Holtec’s September ribbon-cutting ceremony in Camden.

Once SMRs are ready to go — Singh expects the licensing process to last the next three years, followed by manufacturing, with the earliest deployment expected in 2023 — he said they have the potential to bring reliable, clean energy to countries that traditionally haven’t had the infrastructure and talent pools to support power stations since SMRs require far less manpower and, unlike traditional nuclear plants, do not have to be located near a large body of water. He compares the capability of SMRs to the revolutionary impact cell phones had in developing nations. In many poorer countries, people living in remote areas went from no connectivity, as phone line infrastructure didn’t reach them, to having access to the world of information available on affordable cell phones.

The nature of the SMRs also means energy could be supplied locally, cutting out waste from energy lost during transmission and preventing distant outages from affecting large numbers of people.

“It’s like going back to the agrarian economy, you grow your wheat and you consume it,” Singh said.

SMRs have had their critics, with some academics dismissing the hype over their potential to have an impact on the industry as overblown and inaccurate, too little too late in a global economy that’s already shifted toward renewables and is increasingly reliant on natural gas.​Unsurprisingly, Singh doesn’t entertain those arguments. “It’s all this nonsense. This goes on all the time. If you pay attention to those things, you don’t really get any of the work done,” he said. If the SMR does not live up to its potential, however, Singh’s business still has a solid outlook. Beyond its nuclear arm, Holtec’s large-scale manufacturing operations fabricates heavy equipment for industries ranging from military to petrochemical and a host in-between. Its Camden-based nuclear division is particularly focused on building dry cask storage systems that are needed to contain spent nuclear fuel — useful when shutting down nuclear plants. Many of the products and processes Holtec creates stem from Singh’s own patents. He has 78.

Kris Singh is interviewed by Business Journal reporter Natalie Kostelni at a recent public event at Holtec. JEFF FUSCO

Camden’s ‘little Ben Franklin’

Singh’s bullish take on transformation, whether he’s talking about the city of Camden or the nuclear industry, makes sense when you speak to people who know him, like Vijay Kumar, the Nemirovsky Family Dean of Penn Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania.

“He came from extraordinarily humble beginnings. I think he told me once that he lived in a house with no electricity and he had to walk several miles to school and studied at night by a fire or candle,” Kumar said. “And now, I believe, he has the solution for clean energy worldwide.”

Singh earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Ranchi University in India in 1967 before coming to the United States and earning both a master’s and doctorate in mechanical engineering at Penn. Kumar first met Singh more than 25 years ago, when Kumar was a young faculty member who had just arrived on Penn’s campus and Singh was the chair of the advisory committee for the engineering department.

“At the time, I never saw where all of this is going, but I could immediately see this question of impact. If he was asked a simple question, he’d say like ‘OK, great, you’re doing this, but where is it going to take you next?’ As a young academic at that time, there is no next, this is my life, this is my career.”

Singh gave the academic life a try. Early in his career, he took a job at Cornell University. Six months later he realized he didn’t want to research and teach, knowing the impact of that work would take decades to come to fruition. He wanted to work and see the results of that work in action, now.

“I always wanted to do applied research, not trying to prove that zero is actually zero but really create things can be used,” he said.

After building up experience in practical engineering in the field, he started Holtec, short for Holistic Technologies, a purposefully vague name he said was along the lines of “solution provider” since Singh didn’t quite know what they’d be doing beyond immediate business plans to get into nuclear fuel storage. He just knew he wanted to steer his own ship.

“You want to have your own company because it’s the vehicle. What you want to do, you need to find a way to do it, and having your own company allows you to build it yourself,” he said. “You can put your money on the line, like we have done for the SMR.”

Singh would not have made a good academic in that sense, Kumar said, as most academics tend to be risk-averse. “He understands you have to think outside of the box and be entrepreneurial,” he said. “He’s one of our most successful, I would say the most successful alumni, in terms of what he has done for the school and the Philadelphia area, in Camden.”

Singh’s $20 million gift to establish the Krishna P. Singh Nanotechnology Center is fueling research that Kumar said could have significant impacts in numerous fields from creating nanoscale robotic devices that can perform procedures inside the human body to developing novel materials for roof shingles that project solar radiation by day and emit heat inside buildings at night.

“He has a warm personality and is a man of the highest integrity, but above all, I think he cares about the society, the world,” Kumar said. “You see all the wonderful things he’s done. He’s a deeply compassionate man, so that is something that strikes you ... but behind that ease and warmth is just a man with a lot of discipline and a lot of strategic thinking that he brings to bear.”

Kumar’s description is not unlike a figure Singh summoned himself when asked how he views his role in Greater Philadelphia. ​“I kind of look at myself as a little Ben Franklin who came from somewhere,” he said, pausing to let out an upbeat laugh, “and then decided to do something significant.”

You will be both professionally and personally rewarded by meeting fellow peers engaging in international trade! Make new contacts with new & seasoned exporters, solutions providers, the Bucks County International Trade Council and District Export Council members. Learn first-hand accounts of global success, strategies, and future business opportunities. Learn more.

Amendments Implement President Trump's June 2017 National Security Presidential Memorandum (NSPM) Strengthening the Policy of the United States Toward Cuba ​WASHINGTON – Today, the Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and the Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) are announcing amendments to the Cuban Assets Control Regulations (CACR) and Export Administration Regulations (EAR), respectively, to implement changes to the Cuba sanctions program announced by the President in June. The State Department is taking complementary steps to implement these policy changes that cumulatively seek to channel economic activities away from the Cuban military, intelligence, and security services, while maintaining opportunities for Americans to engage in authorized travel to Cuba and support the private, small business sector in Cuba. The changes will take effect on Thursday, November 9, 2017, when the regulations are published in the Federal Register. "We have strengthened our Cuba policies to channel economic activity away from the Cuban military and to encourage the government to move toward greater political and economic freedom for the Cuban people," said Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. For the Treasury regulations, which can be found at 31 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) part 515, see here. For the Commerce regulations, which can be found at 15 CFR parts 730-774, see here. For the State Department list, which can be found on the State Department website and in the Federal Register, see here. Major elements of the changes in the revised regulations include:

Financial Transactions

In accordance with the NSPM, the State Department is publishing a list of entities and subentities that are under the control of, or act for or on behalf of, the Cuban military, intelligence, or security services or personnel and with which direct financial transactions would disproportionately benefit the Cuban military, intelligence, or security services or personnel at the expense of the Cuban people or private enterprise in Cuba – the State Department's List of Restricted Entities and Subentities Associated with Cuba ("Cuba Restricted List"). The Cuba Restricted List is maintained by the State Department and will be published and periodically updated as necessary in the Federal Register.

Persons subject to U.S. jurisdiction will now be prohibited from engaging in certain direct financial transactions with entities and subentities identified by the State Department on the Cuba Restricted List. Certain transactions will be excluded from this prohibition pursuant to exceptions detailed in the NSPM.

Consistent with the Administration’s interest in avoiding negative impacts on American businesses and travelers, commercial engagements in place prior to the State Department’s listing of any entity or subentity will continue to be authorized, as will most previously arranged travel.

Trade and Commerce

In accordance with the NSPM, BIS is establishing a general policy of denial for license applications to export items for use by entities and subentities on the Cuba Restricted List unless the transaction is otherwise consistent with the NSPM.

Consistent with the Administration's policy to support free enterprise in Cuba, BIS is simplifying and expanding its license exception that authorizes certain license-free exports to the Cuban private sector.

People-to-People Travel

In accordance with the NSPM, OFAC is requiring that (1) all people-to-people nonacademic educational travel be conducted under the auspices of an organization that is subject to U.S. jurisdiction and that sponsors such exchanges to promote people-to-people contact, and (2) such travelers be accompanied by a person subject to U.S. jurisdiction who is a representative of the sponsoring organization. Individual people-to-people nonacademic educational travel will no longer be authorized as announced by the President.

Consistent with the Administration's interest in avoiding negative impacts on Americans for arranging lawful travel to Cuba, certain people-to-people travel that previously was authorized will continue to be authorized where the traveler had already completed at least one travel-related transaction (such as purchasing a flight or reserving accommodation) prior to the President's June 16, 2017 announcement.

Educational Travel

In accordance with the NSPM, Americans engaging in certain authorized educational travel will now be required to do so under the auspices of an organization that is a person subject to U.S. jurisdiction.

These authorized educational travelers will now also be required to be accompanied by a person subject to U.S. jurisdiction who is a representative of the sponsoring organization, unless the traveler is the representative and obtains a certification letter from the sponsoring organization.

Consistent with the Administration's interest in avoiding negative impacts on Americans for arranging lawful travel to Cuba, certain educational travel that previously was authorized will continue to be authorized where the traveler has completed at least one travel-related transaction prior to the publication of the regulations on November 9.

Support for the Cuban People Travel

In accordance with the NSPM, OFAC is requiring that each traveler under this travel category engage in a full-time schedule of activities that result in meaningful interaction with individuals in Cuba. Such activities must also enhance contact with the Cuban people, support civil society in Cuba, or promote the Cuban people's independence from Cuban authorities. Renting a room in a private Cuban residence (casa particular), eating at privately owned Cuban restaurants (paladares), and shopping at privately owned stores run by self-employed Cubans (cuentapropistas) are examples of authorized activities; however, in order to meet the requirement of a full-time schedule, a traveler must engage in additional authorized Support for the Cuban People activities.

Prohibited Officials

In accordance with the NSPM, OFAC is amending the definition of the term prohibited officials of the Government of Cuba to include certain additional individuals. BIS is making conforming changes to three license exceptions that include the same definition. This definitional change will affect certain otherwise-authorized transactions with the expanded group of such officials.

“I am excited to finalize this agreement, which will help Pennsylvania work closely with the Israel Innovation Authority to support startups from Israel and shepherd joint ventures between Israeli companies and Pennsylvania companies,” said Secretary Davin. “Governor Wolf and all of us at DCED look forward to using this agreement to work more closely with Israel.”

The agreement will strengthen Pennsylvania’s relationship with the IIA, a semi-independent authority within the Israeli Ministry of Economy. It will help DCED work with the IIA to find innovative companies in Israel and attract them to Pennsylvania, boosting the commonwealth’s economy and creating jobs. In 2016 alone, more than $4.3 billion in two-way trade occurred between Pennsylvania and Israel.

“This historic agreement will strengthen the commercial ties between Innovation Nation and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,” said Vered Nohi, Executive Director of the Philadelphia-Israel Chamber of Commerce. “It will facilitate joint ventures, accelerating ingenuity and commercialization. Not only it will grow both economies, but also attract more Israeli companies to call Pennsylvania their U.S. home. What a great day for members of the Philadelphia-Israel Chamber of Commerce.”

The agreement will also serve to highlight Pennsylvania’s existing capabilities and programs through DCED’s Office of International Business Development (OIBD) that help attract businesses from dozens of countries to the commonwealth. OIBD serves as the agency’s primary arm for fostering trade and investment around the globe, acting as a liaison with foreign companies and governments. OIBD opens the door to Pennsylvania amid ever-increasing competition between the states for overseas investment. In FY 2016-17, approximately 9,000 jobs were supported by OIBD’s programs and services.For more information visit the DCED website, and be sure to stay up-to-date with all of our agency news on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.​MEDIA CONTACTS: Michael Gerber, DCED, 717.783.1132

Via Graziella DiNuzzo, WTCGP Director of Communications and Development, as featured in Technically Philly

(Photo by Flickr user formulanone, used under a Creative Commons license)

Ruth Frey and CHOP Chief of Oncology Dr. Stephen Hunger were on their way to Philadelphia International Airport to catch a flight to Saudi Arabia to meet with Ministers of Health and referring physicians.Their mission: Bring patients in need of specialized care to Philadelphia.

“Families in many countries around the world can’t access specialized care for their children, in many instances, it’s a difference between life and death,” said Frey, CHOP’s Executive Director for International Relationships and Programs.Frey has traveled to the Middle East and other countries before, working with their embassies to pave the way to CHOP for patients such as Abdulrahman Abanemi from Saudi Arabia who has Holt-Oram syndrome, an extremely rare genetic disorder that causes heart and limb abnormalities.

Approximately 100 countries have sent their critically ill patients to CHOP’s Department of Global Medicine for complex medical care. That’s because CHOP is a quaternary care hospital, which means the hospital offers treatment for rare disorders and uncommon specialized surgeries.

CHOP’s reputation for specialized care is noted by physicians across the world. Endocrinologists at Princess Margaret Hospital for Children in Subiaco, Australia, for instance, have referred patients to CHOP’s Congenital Hyperinsulinism Center — patients such as 8-week-old Lachlan Cooper, who was born with the pancreatic disease. Three weeks after taking the 35-hour journey from Perth to Philadelphia, baby Lachlan was cured.Leonard Karp, president and CEO of Philadelphia International Medicine (PIM), has dedicated over 25 years of his career establishing the Philadelphia region as an international healthcare destination of choice. PIM provides international patients and physicians with access to doctors and surgeons from Temple, Jefferson, Fox Chase Cancer Center, WillsEye Hospital and beyond, and patients have been received from across the globe, from the Caribbean and Latin America to Europe and Asia.

PIM recently entered into a partnership with the Sociedad Mexicana de Oncología (SMeO) that will allow physicians at the two institutions to collaborate on treatments. The World Trade Center of Greater Philadelphia helped PIM connect with the appropriate representative in Mexico to make the partnership happen.

“We want to assist on the expansion of SMeO’s mission of advancing Mexico’s healthcare community by providing the opportunity to engage and establish relationships with PIM hospitals,” said Karp.​The region’s health systems are even helping to fill the need for lifesaving treatments for China’s growing middle class. Companies such as Premier Global Care, based in King of Prussia, are helping to serve the average of 60,000 Chinese citizens who seek medical assistance abroad every year.

The bottom line: Philadelphia has top doctors and surgeons that are actively sought out by international patients, and the economic impact for the region is huge.

When patients travel to Philadelphia, they oftentimes bring their entire family. Outside of the cost of medical treatment, which may be covered by governments or insurance, international patients and their families staying in Philadelphia contribute to regional economy. With some hospital stays as long as a year or more, families are spending on airline travel, housing, food, clothing, education for young family members, tourism and more.Not to mention the importance of delivering care to those who typically can not access it.

Frey told a story of a 7-year-old CHOP patient currently learning to walk who asked one of the hospital’s patient navigators for “something special” — sneakers.

“Yesterday, [the patient navigator] alerted our staff to join him on a Skype call. He had something to show us. While our staff and her parents watched via Skype, our girl gently stepped into a pair of sneakers she had always dreamed of wearing — and took her first steps,” said Frey. “That’s why we do what we do every day. That’s why I love my job. ”

The latest product of VideoRay’s Mission Specialist Series, the Defender, is now shipping to Commercial, Military, and Law Enforcement organizations throughout the world.

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